KIRKUS REVIEW

Chronicling the
superhuman efforts to climb, though never conquer, the “Savage Mountain.”

Mount Everest may be the
tallest and most famous mountain on Earth, but for real alpinists, K2, the
world’s second-tallest peak, is by far the more daunting to climb. Some 800
feet shorter than Everest, K2 makes up the difference with ruthless weather,
treacherous terrain, and an isolation that makes even approaching its base a
challenge. Conefrey (Everest 1953: The Epic Story of the First Ascent of
Everest, 2014, etc.) ably tells the story of the many attempts by hardy
souls (and outsized characters) to reach the peak of this most formidable
mountain. On July 31, 1954, more than a year after the first ascent of Everest,
two Italians reached the summit of K2 against all odds. Achille Compagnoni and
Lino Lacedelli were part of a far larger team whose work finally achieved what
many thought would never be possible. However, the fleeting joy of
accomplishment gave way to controversies and recriminations, elements that the
author also revisits and deconstructs. Conefrey writes skillfully about
mountaineering, and he knows its history and its many players, stars and bit
actors alike. He successfully conveys the complexity and obstacles that these
brave men faced. Occasionally, the different efforts to scale K2 take on a
subtle repetition, and the book would benefit from both a glossary and an
annotated cast of characters. But Conefrey makes the stakes clear and reveals
the many rivalries and tensions that plagued even the best-equipped teams. In
the epilogue, the author explores some of the lingering debates about the
successful 1954 ascension.

Most of us will never
experience K2. Conefrey leaves readers with both tremendous admiration for and
an appreciation of the consequences for those who succeed in an
adventure so physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing.

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